Packers mock drafts: Michael Mayer? Nolan Smith? Myles Murphy? Here's what experts think will happen
With three weeks to go before the 2023 NFL draft, mock drafts continue to connect a wide variety of names to Green Bay with the No. 15 selection.
Here's a look at the latest round of mock drafts:
NFL.com: Three different directions
The site offers a flurry of mock drafts
Cynthia Frelund: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State wide receiver. "My model loves reliable route runners who are above a specific speed threshold (can travel 10 yards in 2.5 seconds or less when pressed, or 2.1 seconds when not pressed during a game)," she wrote. "Smith-Njigba is the latest Buckeye to fit this mold — just watch his 2021 tape. (Alabama also has a knack for churning out these kinds of receivers.) I can hear you already: But the Packers don't draft receivers in the first round. Well … maybe they should?"
Bucky Brooks: Myles Murphy, Clemson edge rusher. "The Packers need to add more bodies to the pass-rush rotation. Murphy is an athletic edge defender with the potential to develop into a double-digit sack producer."
Eric Edholm: Dalton Kincaid, Utah tight end. "Want Jordan Love to succeed? Giving him a highly athletic seam threat with sticky hands might help. Assuming Kincaid’s back injury isn't an issue that lingers, he and Love could make quite the duo in Wisconsin."
Chad Reuter, in an older draft from late March, baked in the idea the Packers would make a trade with the Jets that involved the No. 13 pick. He selected Paris Johnson, an offensive tackle out of Ohio State, and then Michael Mayer, the tight end from Notre Dame.
Charles Davis also had a previous draft from late March that had the Packers taking Kincaid.
Daniel Jeremiah had the Packers taking Paris Johnson at No. 15 and had Wisconsin native Will McDonald landing at No. 31 to the Chiefs to close out the first round.
CBS Sports: A compelling former Packers connection
Chris Trapasso has a familiar name to offer, Northwestern junior offensive tackle Peter Skoronski. He doesn't fall all the way to No. 15 in many mock drafts but he's a fascinating story as the grandson of Bob Skoronski, a Packers Hall of Famer who was a mainstay on Vince Lombardi's lines.
"The Packers usually like waiting on offensive linemen — and usually find quality blockers after Day 1 — but Skoronski is a versatile type who fits the Green Bay mold," Trapasso wrote.
Joe Tippmann, the University of Wisconsin center who declared for the draft as a junior, is taken No. 25 in Trapasso's first round, landing with the New York Giants.
Will Brinson had a new name: Zay Flowers, a wide receiver out of Boston College. At 5-9, 182 pounds, he doesn't quite have the height that Packers scouts typically go for, but in any event …
"Remember when the Seahawks traded Russell Wilson and promptly took OL help early in the draft?" Brinson said, "This REEKS of the Packers doing the same thing to Aaron Rodgers, with the built-in excuse of helping Jordan Love. Flowers' size might not be perfect but he's a DUDE."
Josh Edwards went with someone more conventional, tight end Michael Mayer out of Notre Dame.
"In hindsight, it is difficult to blame the Packers for not giving Aaron Rodgers better pass catchers when it is clear he was so set in his ways and comfortable with those they had added," Edwards wrote. "The franchise wastes no time giving Jordan Love another outlet selecting Michael Mayer."
ESPN's Todd McShay: Myles Murphy
Todd McShay selected Myles Murphy, the defensive end from Clemson, for the Packers.
"The Packers could be in transition this season if Rodgers does end up with the Jets, and they will have to get Jordan Love some help," McShay wrote. "Allen Lazard and Robert Tonyan signed elsewhere, which leaves the receiving group light. So yes, I could see Green Bay going in that direction. But there should also be plenty of pass-catching options on Day 2, and Murphy would be a problem for opponents off the edge of the defense."
McShay has Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave as the selection in the second round, just behind Wisconsin's Keeanu Benton going to Atlanta with pick No. 44.
McShay has Tippmann landing at No. 42 to the New York Jets.
More Michael Mayer from The Athletic, Pro Football Network and Yahoo! Sports
Daniel Lee and Nate Tice of The Athletic also choose Mayer, as did Dalton Miller of Pro Football Network and Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times.
Nate Tice: "Regardless of whether it’s Rodgers or Jordan Love under center for the Packers in 2023, they are going to love having Mayer as an option in the passing game. The Notre Dame product checks a lot of boxes at the tight end position and for how the Packers like to use them. He is a solid blocker with the upside to play tight at the line, but he also has the athleticism and route-running versatility to line up anywhere in the formation. He might lack the elite athleticism to be a true mismatch, but Mayer is a strong pass catcher with reliable hands in the short and intermediate zones.
Sam Farmer: "Mayer, who caught more passes than any tight end in school history, would be an able replacement for Robert Tonyan."
Dalton Miller: "Although I personally view drafting tight ends akin to drafting running backs in the first round (for completely different reasons), Michael Mayer is an outstanding player who will help Jordan Love early on. While it may not feel like the best value, there isn’t a receiver who fits the Green Bay mold that’s worth the 15th pick, either. Going TE-WR in the first two rounds could be the best of both worlds for the Packers."
Miller followed through to choose Nebraska wide receiver Trey Palmer in the second round and Maryland offensive tackle Jaelyn Duncan in the third. He slotted Wisconsin's Benton to Detroit at pick No. 55 and Tippmann to Pittsburgh at No. 80.
More players from Georgia, perhaps?
Last year, the Packers had two first round picks and chose players from the same program, Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt of Georgia. It appears some believe the Packers will return to the same well.
Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus gave the Packers edge rusher Nolan Smith from Georgia.
"Smith is a modern undersized edge-rusher who, at only 238 pounds, can be a three-down player," Palazzolo wrote. "In fact, he earned a 90.0-plus run-defense grade over the past two seasons. He needs more power elements to his pass-rushing toolbox, but he’s a high-end athlete who can win with speed."
An earlier three-round mock draft on PFF featured some picks hauled in from the Jets in an Aaron Rodgers trade. With tight end Dalton Kincaid of Utah taken in the first round, the Packers then added Iowa State edge rusher Will McDonald with one of three second-round picks; McDonald attended Waukesha North before playing football for the Cyclones. Green Bay also added Michigan defensive lineman Mazi Smith and Houston wide receiver Nathaniel Dell, then Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee in round three.
USA Today's Draft Wire writer Curt Popejoy also went with Smith, then added Boise State safety JL Skinner in the second round before the fun part: Tippmann in the third round. Needless to say, there's some variance in determining where Tippmann will wind up in this draft.
Benton is slotted at No. 65 to the Texans, with Tippmann at No. 80.
Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated gave the Packers a Georgia player, but this one's on offense. It's offensive tackle Broderick Jones.
"The Jordan Love era has started, despite Rodgers still on the roster," Manzano wrote. "The Packers need to improve their offensive line after Rodgers was sacked 32 times last season. The powerful Jones can play on either side and might even be a quality guard, giving his future employer plenty of flexibility."
Danny Kelly of The Ringer had previously connected Jones to the Packers.
"Longtime starter David Bakhtiari has missed 23 of 35 possible games over the past two seasons (including playoffs), and even if he does return healthy in 2023, the team needs to start looking for a successor on the blind side," Kelly wrote. "Jones is athletic and long, and gives the team a potential stalwart for the future at left tackle."
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Green Bay Packers mock drafts: Latest selections from around the web
